Frequently Asked Questions

1. What providers can buy a subscription to EPIC?
Any physician, physician assistant or nurse practitioner can buy a subscription to access EPIC.

2. What are the consequences of not having an EHR?
Providers who have not attained meaningful use in 2015, will face a reduction in their Medicare payments.

3. What if I use IPS?  Do I still need an EHR for my office?
Yes.  Meaningful use must be obtained in both inpatient and outpatient settings.

4. Is EpicCare Ambulatory HIPAA Compliant?
All health records and information related to the care and treatment of any patient are protected under the regulations established by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA Privacy Rule) and should only be used by medical personnel involved in a patient’s care. The Epic electronic medical record system is encrypted and accessible only to authorized individuals through a secure login name and password. Any use of patient records by any persons for any reason other than those directly related to a patient’s continuity of care is a potential violation of HIPAA privacy regulations and are therefore prosecutable as per these established guidelines.

5. Where is the data stored?
The data is stored on servers located at SRHS.  These systems will be fully redundant and a disaster recovery site will be identified and used as a secondary backup facility.

6. Who owns the data?
Data captured during the course of patient encounters is associated with the authoring physician and practice providing a patient’s treatment and is accessible only to providers involved in a patient’s care.

7. Who is responsible for upgrades?
The SRHS Epic Certified team who is currently implementing the system will continue to support the system after go-live to include all upgrades. There is no additional cost for upgrades.

8. If I discontinue my current EHR system, how will I access the documented data related to the care of my patients?
This is a process that will need to be reviewed at each location.  Conversions, scanning, or rekeying of critical data are some ways this can be handled. This could also be outsourced to a third-party vendor for large volume conversions.

9. How do I get outside records into the electronic chart?
Epic provides for scanning of documents into the patient chart. Large volume scanning is not recommended.

10. Can other providers see my schedule?
Each practice has many choices available to them regarding the extent to which their content is viewable.

11. What is required of the practice?
The practice must inform SRHS of all providers in the clinic in order to determine the appropriate subscription level.  The practice will be responsible for obtaining all necessary hardware and internet connectivity.  The practice is responsible for entering all data into the EHR during each episode of care. 

12. Who provides ongoing support and services once the application is installed?
The SRHS Certified Project Team provides support and services to the application.